Quite a few web links follow. I encourage you to follow one or two that spark your curiosity and learn more; they are all worthwhile.

The event was organized and hosted by Ted Kerr, an author, artist, and organizer with What Would an HIV Doula Do? (WWHIVDD). Notably, Ted collaborated with Jordan Eagles on a poster that is available for free to all visitors to VIRAL\VALUE. On Saturday, Ted established an atmosphere of hospitality and possibility that set the tone for the open mic.

 

The event was held at the Griot Museum of Black History, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Lois Conley, founder and Director of the Griot, gave us all a warm welcome. The Griot has exciting developments on the horizon with the Black HerStory project and Asaase III, the first permanent public artwork by David Adjaye, architect of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.

 

Ted and Lois were guest speakers earlier in the week for the Masters and Johnson Lecture Series at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, a talk organized by Molly Pearson, who is also a member of WWHIVDD. Through the support of the Brown School and Saint Louis University's Center for Social Action, Wash U and SLU students were able to attend the event at no charge. (My SLU colleague and CSA director, Bryan Sokol, graciously shared his pictures of the day.)

We heard from a number of powerful voices, including poet MK Stallings, founder of Urbstetiks, a youth-centered, arts-based, and Black-led organization whose UrbArts gallery space in Old North St. Louis regularly hosts poetry slams. 

 

In the audience were members of the Community CollabARTive, an arts-based community development collective under the auspices of Peter & Paul Community Services. CollabARTive members visited MOCRA last Friday for a morning of reflection and response inspired by VIRAL\VALUE, led by Ted Kerr and CollabARTive co-found Con Christeson. Con and MOCRA have been collaborating for nearly a decade, most recently during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with a series of “Con-Texts”—mindfulness prompts to help navigate the disorientation of those days.

 

The audience also included the creative team behind Wildfruit Projects, a queer-led exhibition and event space. Earlier in the year, Wildfruit hosted an open mic night led by Ted that sparked the idea for Saturday's event.

 

I could go on, but I hope this roster conveys a sense of the diverse threads woven together in an afternoon of sharing, creativity, and community. I am grateful that, nearing its thirtieth anniversary, MOCRA is deeply connected to its campus, local, and regional communities, but also making connections across the country and the world. I hope that MOCRA’s exhibitions and programs make a positive contribution to addressing the challenges that face us, but also offer opportunities to inspire, renew, and celebrate.